Court: Guantanamo force-feeding likely legal

2/11/14 12:04 PM EST

A federal appeals court Tuesday declined to halt the military's practice of force-feeding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, but concluded that judges do have the authority to rule on at least some detainee complaints about conditions there.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled, 2-1, that two district court judges were mistaken when they found a law passed by Congress in 2006 required the dismissal of prisoner petitions complaining about the force feeding. However, the D.C. Circuit panel said force-feeding the prisoners appeared to be a legitimate response to concerns that the detainees would die if authorities didn't step in.

"The overwhelming majority of courts have concluded....as we do now, that absent exceptional circumstances prison officials may forcefeed a starving inmate actually facing the risk of death," Judge David Tatel wrote in an opinion joined by Judge Thomas Griffith (and posted here).

Judge Stephen Williams dissented, saying she would have ruled that the Military Commissions Act still barred the detainees' claims despite a 2008 Supreme Court decision that found unconstitutional lawmakers' attempt to strip federal courts' jurisdiction over Guantanamo prisoners' habeas claims.

The lawyer who argued the case for the detainees, Jon Eisenberg, stressed the importance of the court's jurisdictional ruling and noted that the D.C. Circuit kept the door open to litigating the force-feeding policy in the district court.

"This decision establishes that the federal courts have the power to stop the mistreatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The Court of Appeals has given us the green light to continue our challenge to the detainees' force-feeding as being unconstitutionally abusive. We intend to do that," the attorney said. "This decision puts a large crack in the edifice of lawlessness that has surrounded Guantanamo Bay since 2002. It's a good day for the rule of law in America."

Both sides could appeal the panel's ruling to the full bench of the D.C. Circuit or ask the Supreme Court to step in.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials are reviewing the decision.

Tatel is a Clinton appointee, Griffith a George W. Bush appointee, and Williams a Reagan appointee.